Based on a much longer eponymous essay by Paul Graham, I reinterpreted it so it makes sense when you don’t know where to start:

Live in the future. Most of us live in the past or the present. It is easier to analyze what already succeeded and think of ways to replicate the success. It’s thinking by analogy. It is a valid way to think, except that this isn’t the way to create a big startup. Big startups are based on ideas of two kinds – obvious and hard, like Elon Musk’s SpaceX; and non-obvious and hard, like Uber. If you don’t see the obvious and hard or the non-obvious, there is a name for it – “Schlep Blindness”. SpaceX is an obvious idea because the only other enterprise that could send people to Mars, NASA, had no plan to do so at the time SpaceX started. So it is obvious. Because it is obvious and no one else is doing it – a reasonable assumption is that it is impossible. Yet if you live in the future, it will also be obvious to you that humanity will either go to Mars (or another planet) or go extinct at some point. More likely we will find a way to leave this blue pebble. So the impossible must be possible. With UberPool, the idea that at any given point in time there are at least two people going from about the same location to about the same destination is non-obvious. It requires at least three assumptions. It is hard because you would have to gather and store mountains of data about where people actually go in a city. That kind of data analysis is only becoming available now. But Uber thought of it when they offered their first ride back in 2009. They were living in the future.

See what is missing in the world. You probably noticed that before Uber, taxi rides weren’t enjoyable. You probably noticed that before SpaceX people were less interested in space. But that is already the past. What is missing now? More importantly what is missing from your life now?

Write it down. No matter how smart you are, you will not remember all your insights. Your conversations with others, random observation, and shower thoughts that are worth following up on. Write these done or lose them. Daydreaming has value. Einstein had another name for it – thought experiment.

Make a prototype. Most of your thoughts, even the best ones, will never see the light of day sadly. You will forget them into oblivion even if you write them down. The only exceptions are those thoughts you prototype. Makethem physical if they can be – program them, design them, do anything that makes them more than just thoughts. Most people will stop right here. So if you do this, you are already ahead of the imaginary curve.

Show the prototype to 100 people. Now you will need to step out of your comfort zone and seek out people who will critique your prototype. Ideally, these are both people you already know and complete strangers. Why 100? Because you need a breadth of perspective and hopefully a pattern to recognize from all the feedback.

Iterate. Although a few people will get it right on the first try, the odds are you will not. So prepare to redo everything from scratch. This is your “founder MBA”, except it is free.

Find a co-founder. When the prototype starts making sense, go find another person who will pour a decade of their life into this project because it will change the world and they probably don’t have a more meaningful thing to do in life at the moment.

Register your business. Split equity. Finally, an easy step. Get a lawyer who will register your company. Give your co-founder as much equity as will make them work their hardest, while you keep as much as will make you give it your all.

Look for funding and build version one. Unless you have enough savings to build version one, go find an investor. While you are doing that build version one. You have to keep building because there is no guarantee about when or whether you find an investor. Don’t assume that you will just because other startups are getting funded. Assume the worst, and build your product.

Launch. By the time there is even an iota of usefulness in your product, launch it. Extra features, better interface, faster load time and other optimizations probably won’t save it, if the core features have no use.

Follow up with users. Are users coming back? Find out why they are not.

Launch again. Launch as many times as it takes. At some point, if at least a few dozen people are coming back on their own, you probably made something valuable.

Get to 1,000 users. This may not seem like a lot, but the first 1,000 users will show the weaknesses of what you have built. You probably will have to recruit them manually. How manually? Take their computer and open your website for them. Whatever it takes.

Grow. Paul Graham encourages startups to grow at least 5% a week. If you grow that much, within 4 years you will get to 25 million users. In other words, you will be one of the largest startups.

Success – whatever that is. You can IPO, sell your company to another or stay private by convincing investors that there is a bigger liquidity event coming. Even now, though, you may or may not have made the world better. WebVan IPO’ed, but quickly disappeared. Think about what kind of a dent in the universe you want to leave with your startup.

When a person receives a check and has to wait for two-four days for its clearance, that’s not a good scenario. Many say that they have gotten used to it, but the younger generation is living a fast-paced life; millennials are challenging the status quo. There is a rising need for immediacy in payments whether it is banks, businesses, or even peer-to-peer. Solutions are available in some parts of the world for immediate transfer of funds. We have been tracking real-time payment systems launched across the world on an ongoing basis and have had discussions with people who built them. I thought of sharing it in the form of a timeline infographic to understand the trends.

People and businesses worldwide want payment systems that can achieve the desired speed of transactions, minimize the cost of transactions, reduce risks of fraud and bring satisfaction of service across different channels. That’s where real-time payments come into the picture. It has already been implemented in some countries and the US is not on the list.

Below is an infographic showing a timeline of countries adopting real-time payments:

1973: Zengin (operates 08:30-16:40)

Japan was the first country in the world to implement real-time payments.

1987: SIC

Switzerland was the first country in the Europe to implement real-time payments.

1992: TIC-RTGS (operates 08:30-17:30)

Turkey was the second country in Europe to implement real-time payments.

1995: CIFS

Taiwan was the second the country in Asia to implement real-time payments.

2000: Greiðsluveitan (operates 09:00-16:30)

Iceland was the third country in Europe to implement real-time payments.

2001: HOFINET

South Korea was the third country in Asia to implement real-time payments.

2002: SITRAF (operates 07:30-17:00)

Brazil was the first country in South America and among the BRIC nations to implement real-time payments.

2004: SPEI

Mexico was the first country from North America to implement real-time payments.

2006: RTC

South Africa was the first African country to implement real-time payments.

2008: TEF

Chile was the second country in South America to implement real-time payments.

Faster Payments

The UK was the fourth country in Europe to implement real-time payments.

2010: IBPS

In 2010, China introduced real-time payments.

IMPS

In 2010, India introduced real-time payments.

2011: NIP (operates 08:00-17:00)

In 2011, Nigeria introduced real-time payments.

2012: Elixir Express

Poland implemented real-time payments in 2012.

BiR

Sweden implemented real-time payments in 2012.

2014: Nets

Denmark implemented real-time payments in 2014.

FAST

In March 2014, Singapore introduced real-time payments.

Countries like Singapore and the UK have this service free of charge. Even countries like Nigeria and India are offering such real-time payment services.

In the US, we don’t have something which people enjoy in many countries across the world and that is an opportunity to build free real-time payments for any amount.

NACHA, the electronic payments association, has recently proposed a solution to provide a new, efficient and ubiquitous capability to expedite the processing of ACH transactions. With the new rule, the same-day processing of virtually any ACH payment can be enabled. But it will take some time for the rule to become fully effective. Same Day ACH would become effective over three phases during September 2016 as follows:

In Phase 1, ACH credit transactions will be eligible for same-day processing, supporting use cases such as hourly payroll, person-to-person (P2P) payments and same-day bill pay.

In Phase 2, Same-day ACH debits will be added, allowing for a wide variety of consumer bill payment use cases like utility, mortgage, loan and credit card payments.

A criticism you’ll often hear today is that people spend too much time taking photos of their experiences rather than living them. But on the flip side, those photographs serve an important function: by taking photographs, we’re able to hold on to our memories, show the rest of the world a glimpse of our lives, and ultimately tell a story.

Everyone should learn a little bit of photography because everyone can benefit from it. Not only is it a fun hobby, but it can even make you grow as a person. Here are five reasons why learning a bit of photography can go a long way no matter who you are.

To Preserve Memories

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” – Aaron Siskind

Holding on to precious memories might be the oldest reason in the book to take photos, and it isn’t any less significant today than it was a hundred years ago.

If it’s a special day you want to commit to memory – like a wedding, a birthday, or a reunion – then taking a beautiful photo allows you revisit that momentous occasion with crystal clear accuracy. Barring unfortunate circumstances, a photograph will be there even when your memory falters.

Even if it’s just another day out with your family or friends, taking a photo allows you to preserve a split second moment that you’ll be able to look back on fondly.

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” – Marc Riboud

If you want to take it one step further, you could even commit to taking one photo a day for a year. Trying your hand at a “photo a day” project gives you the unique ability to look back over your year and remember at least one significant moment out of each day in that year.

To Cultivate Creativity

“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” – Ansel Adams

No matter what your preferred style of photography is, there’s an art to taking photos. Determining your subject, composing your shot, and deciding how to process the image is all part of one large creative process.

Despite the fact that it looks easy, photography is as much a creative outlet as writing, painting, or any other form of artistry. Sometimes the difference between a good and bad photo can come down to something as small as timing:

Even something as simple and mundane as a selfie can be turned into a creative and appealing final image. Take Derek Johnston’s selfie in which he appears to be falling, with food flying toward the camera. It took quite a bit of skill and quite a lot of patience, but the whole photograph is a carefully constructed – and extremely creative – tableau.

To Participate in Other People’s Lives

“All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.” – Susan Sontag

Yes, photography can sometimes be a lonely activity, but at the same time, taking a photo gives you the opportunity – albeit briefly – to be part of someone else’s life. Wedding photographers, street photographers, and anyone who has paused for a moment in the street to capture a fleeting image understands this perfectly.

I took the photo above while walking down a pedestrian street in Cairo. I don’t know why this man chose to carry that large bowl over his head, but what I do know is that I saw him walking toward me. I snapped the shot, we exchanged smiles – him fully knowing that I had taken a photo of him – and quietly walked past each other without saying a word.

Moments like this are why I personally love to take photos. There’s a deeply human element to every photograph that allows you to connect with others in a unique and special way.

To See the World Differently

“I began to realize that the camera sees the world differently than the human eye and that sometimes those differences can make a photograph more powerful than what you actually observed.” – Galen Rowell

The more you take photographs, the more you’ll notice little things that might go unnoticed by others. This is a distinctly different benefit from the others listed above as those bring with them a kind of immediate gratification. The ability to see things differently only comes with time and practice.

The more you take photographs, the more you’ll see the world differently.

While some people might argue that we have become more obsessed with taking photos with our smartphones rather than living in the moment, all it takes is one shot. Don’t spend too long behind the lens, otherwise you might actually miss out on all the other interesting shots around you.

“Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” – Matt Hardy

With enough time, photography can unlock new perspectives in every person’s eye.

To Tell Stories

“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.” – Lewis Hine

They say a picture is worth a thousand words – a cliche, sure, but it’s a cliche for a reason. A single image has the power to convey so much emotion, sometimes even more than a poem or a story. Nowhere is this more evident than among photojournalists.

Like this:

If you approach an angel for financing, these are the four main areas they will focus on when assessing you:

1. Vision and strategy

The No. 1 thing angel investors care about is vision. A potential portfolio company has to have a clear vision of how to succeed in its marketplace. This vision will help the company overcome the difficulties it will face as a startup. Angel investors look for a leader who has a clear idea of what his or her company will mean to its clients or consumers, what challenges it will face, and a strategy crafted with both these points in mind.

A vague notion of how a product might succeed does not qualify as a vision. Visions must be clear, plausible, and disruptive to some current product or trend. IIt should be clear how the new product or service offered by the company will change the marketplace for the better, and why consumers or end-users of the product or service will find value in it.

2. Leadership experience

Angels look for leadership experience among the founders of the startup. Starting a successful business is an exercise in leadership and team building. For most angel investors, that is a skill that has to be in place in the startup’s team before they will consider making an investment.

Without outstanding leadership skills, the new company will not be able to successfully execute its vision. This is why angel investors look to the founders of the company for demonstrated leadership skills.

3. Entrepreneurial experience

Another kind of key experience that angel investors look for in potential portfolio companies is entrepreneurial experience. Of course, starting a company is an inherently entrepreneurial experience, and angel investors look for evidence of entrepreneurial skills in the founders of companies they might invest in.

One big plus for angel investors is serial entrepreneurship: have the founders built a successful company from the ground before? Have they sold or IPO’d the company? Angel investors will be much more interested if the answer is yes. Even failed entrepreneurial experiences are considered a plus by many angel investors, provided the entrepreneur can explain what he or she learned from the failure.

Most angel investors will not invest in a company whose founders do not have any entrepreneurial experience. The entrepreneur should expect to show some success in building key aspects of the business before receiving angel funding.

4. Communication skills

Communication skills are key for any potential entrepreneur looking to receive an angel investment. The entrepreneur must be able to communicate his or her vision clearly, not just to angel investors, but also to team members, suppliers, potential clients or customers, and to the marketplace in general.

This is why angel investors focus on an entrepreneur’s communication skills; successful entrepreneurship requires great communication skills. An entrepreneur must be able to convince a skeptical public that this new product is better than the old way of doing things. An entrepreneur must be able to convince suppliers to work with the new company. The entrepreneur must be able to convince potential employees that the risk of working for a startup is worth it.

To persuade all of these stakeholders that the risk of associating with the new company is worth it, the entrepreneur must have outstanding communication skills. In particular, the entrepreneur must have great interpersonal communication skills, since most interactions between the entrepreneur and potential stakeholders in a new company are face to face or over the phone.

Good writing skills are also essential as an easy-to-understand and persuasive business plan is also a must for entrepreneurs seeking funding from angel investors.

PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - A teenager accused of fatally shooting 17 people at a Florida high school was investigated by police and state officials as far back as 2016 after slashing his arm in a social media video, and saying he wanted to buy a gun, but authorities determined he was receiving sufficient support, newspapers said on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian propaganda arm oversaw a criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to support Donald Trump and disparage Hillary Clinton, said an indictment released on Friday that revealed more details than previously known about Moscow's purported effort to interfere.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has drawn a new accusation of bank fraud from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office, according to court documents made public on Friday.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Student survivors of a mass shooting that killed 17 people at a Florida high school called for gun restrictions on Saturday during an angry and somber rally, but attendees at a nearby gun show said firearms could not be blamed for the massacre.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc will start using postcards sent by U.S. mail later this year to verify the identities and location of people who want to purchase U.S. election-related advertising on its site, a senior company executive said on Saturday.

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Russian influence operation designed to tamper with the 2016 U.S. presidential election used a combination of old-school espionage tactics and 21st-century technologies that will not be easy to stop, even now that the methods have been exposed, experts said.

MAGNITOGORSK, Russia (Reuters) - Unknown hackers stole 339.5 million roubles ($6 million) from a Russian bank last year in an attack using the SWIFT international payments messaging system, the Russian central bank said on Friday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian court threatened Facebook on Friday with a fine of up to 100 million euros ($125 million) if it continued to break privacy laws by tracking people on third-party websites.